My Baking Fantasy: Baklava

My Baking Fantasy: "Baklava". Appropriately named as one bite into a properly prepared baklava is like being in a fantasy world. This is a dessert that intimidates many home cooks. It looks so complicated.

In truth, it is not that difficult. To make a homemade phyllo pastry is the very complex part of traditional baklava but now we can use Phyllo dough, so the difficult part is eliminated.

Baklava has walnuts or pistachios as the main ingredient. The sauce it is layered in is made from honey, butter, water, sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon. What a lovely combination of flavors.

Do you already make Baklava in your household? Depending on your nationality, this may be a common treat for you to bake. So, where does Baklava originate?

It came to American with immigrants from European countries and the Middle East.

Until the mid 19th century this was a food enjoyed only by the rich. The Turkish Sultans with their Harems were found Baklava to their liking. Made with pistachios and honey, both were believed to be aphrodisiacs when consumed on a regular basis and spices were added, cinnamon for females and cardamon for males. Cloves covered both sexes.

Greek seamen discovered Baklava in traveling to Mesopotamia. They loved it and brought it back to Athens. The main contribution of the Greeks was the creation of the Phyllo dough.

Honey is the perfect ingredient to be the sweetener in this dessert as it has many health benefits. It is a source of carbohydrates that provide energy and strength to our bodies. Honey can boost our performance and endurance and reduce muscle fatigue. It is a good antioxidant and has anti-bacterial properties. This improves the digestive system. How wonderful to know that the sweet part is good for us.